Holy Holy -- Jimmy Owens

KISS - Keep it simple stupid. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that this was the method that Jimmy Owens used when he composed the song “Holy Holy” in 1972. He’d had lots of experience already with music by that time, as a minister and a collaborator on many productions, so he’s capable of being intricate. Yet, with all that experience, it’s revealing that he says that simplicity says it best when it comes to worship. When I talk to God, ‘don’t flower it up, don’t try to impress Him’, Owens says in this song.

The song “Holy Holy” was written as part of the Owens’ (Jimmy’s and his wife Carol’s) hit musical “Come Together: A Musical Experience in Love”, which in 1972 was the first musical they composed for a large arena. It’s said that the musical’s influence helped transform contemporary worship, and indeed the song “Holy Holy” from that musical is still in many hymnals today. Owens says the idea with the tune was mainly to create something that could be easily learned and sung by a church immediately. It’s so simple, a child could sing it. So, if you think the song’s childish, you’ve just complimented Owens, really. That’s the idea, and it’s something I too often forget when I think of relating to God. The song’s verses tell me with a plain, childlike approach what exactly I’m supposed to be doing when I open my mouth and make music. The song’s so simple, that in fact, that’s part of its message to me. I’m a fallible being, and in order to relate to a perfect God, I need something that I can’t mess up to give back to Him.

So, sing to your God with Owens’ verses, and let them remind you of the Trinity’s role in your life as a believer. Father: grace-giver. Jesus: savior-sacrifice. Spirit: indwelling helper. What – you already know all this? Owens doesn’t complicate the basics of my faith in the song, but instead tells me to put all those beliefs into a jingle that I can hum easily, daily. Owens’ song, from the heart of a musical God, communicates something elemental. God makes my bond with Him simple, intentionally. He’s already done the complex, impossible stuff for me. I’m not God, but in Holy Holy, I can mimic His musical nature. Still think this is just a kid’s song?

See the following website on Jimmy and Carol Owens: http://jimmyandcarolowens.com/

Information on the song’s background is found in the book “God Songs-How to Write and Select Songs for Worship”, by Paul Baloche and Jimmy and Carol Owens, copyright 2004, leadworship.com.

Also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_and_Carol_Owens

The Battle Belongs to the Lord – Jamie Owens-Collins

July 4th. American Movie Classics channel. What do you guess is on? Midway…Patton…Glory…The Battle...(you complete the title of that last one). A war movie stirs my patriotism, but does it really convey the reality of what war does to someone? Can it prompt courage? How would you confront death? Or, if it’s more than just theory for you, how do you currently confront a death-struggle? Jamie Owens-Collins has written a song, “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”, that echoes how Israel faced its enemy (2 Chronicles 20) in battle – with divine protection. It reminds us that God, while often mysterious and invisible to us, can still overpower whomever He chooses, by Himself.

Jamie Owens-Collins comes from a musical family, so it’s no surprise that she might also use this medium to tell us her thoughts. Her father Jimmy wrote “Holy, Holy”, and her mother Carol wrote “Freely, Freely”, so we know Jamie observed their lives as musicians and worshippers. We might also say she saw them, or someone close by, as warriors, too when she wrote “The Battle Belongs to the Lord”. She shares with us that the Lord’s protection is not just for someone who wears a uniform, but also for me, a civilian in the secular, daily-grind world. What she says about the song’s origin, and how her own life has played out in its aftermath, is also instructive about how God speaks to those He chooses to use. Unlike many of the songs she’s written, Owen-Collins says this song was composed in short order, during a brief car ride to a church concert in 1985. “Boom! It was just there. By the time I got to the church, I had it finished.” Great! That makes me want to take up the pen and compose my own ditty, how about you? But, wait. Five years after its inception, Jamie was struck with depression, a four-year battle of her own. Was it her own? She admits that she discovered anew how weak she was, and how strong and dependable God is, during her illness. Could God have been trying to tell Jamie this, in a personal way, when she wrote “The Battle…” in 1985? One wonders.

Owens-Collins says this straightforward song speaks to her about God’s ways. “There are times when God comes in and just, boom!, answers your prayer right now and gives you a miracle. But, most of the time, He lets us really walk through the process.” The song Owens-Collins wrote wasn’t easily accepted by producers, she recounts, but “…the funny thing is, it’s such a simple song. You know, I’ve written other songs I feel were much more cleverly put together and crafted. This thing (the ‘Battle…” song) is just as simple as it can be, but that’s the one. I don’t know exactly how a song takes off.” God is often inscrutable, an enigma. And, He’s probably a vexation for the unbeliever who seeks the ultimate answers. Even for believers, this is often true, especially when trouble looms, or pounces. My only rational response is to cry ‘Help!’. I take heart that God does not fear in battle. He, as perfect love, casts fear aside (1 John 4:18). And so I hide myself in Him, and yield my freedom and the battlefield to Him, even if it is Independence Day.


Information on Jamie Owens-Collins’ story obtained from “Our God Reigns: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2000.